Starting mechanism for motors.



J. KELLER.

STARTING MECHANISM FoR MOTORS.

APPLICATION yFILED NOV. I4, 1912.

1. KELLER, STARTING MECHANISM FOR MOTORS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 14. 1912.

Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

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STARTING MCHANISM FOR MOTORS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV- 14,1912."

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

w? fo? f [LZZeT Patented Apr'. 13,- 1915.

J. KELLER.

STARTING MEcHANlsM FOR MoToRs.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. I4, 1912.

Patented. Apr. 13, 1915.

l. KELLER.

STARTING MCHANISM EOR MOTORS.

APPucATloN FILED Nov. 14, 1912.

Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

1. KELLER.

STARTING MECHANISM FoR MoToRs.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. I4, I9l2.

Patented Apr. is, 1915.

l los TMNTUTTT m Y JEREMIAH KELLER., or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

S'IAIRIJING MECHANISM FOR' MOTORS.

` Specicationof Letters Patent. Patntd APL 13, 1915,

'Application filed Noveber 14, 1912. Serial No. 731,457.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JEREMIAH KELLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county ofCook and Stateof Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Starting Mechanism for Motors, of Which the following is a specication.

The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvementsin starting mechanisms for non-self-starting motors, such as gasolene engines, synchronous motors, etc. some external force in order to commence the cycle of operations through which they work. For example, to place a gasolene engine in operation, it is necessary to turn the same over once or twice, or at least a fraction of a revolution,.before the motor will pick up or take hold and continue to operate under its own power.

Various forms of starting mechanism have been devised. The mechanism of the present invention relates to that general class in which a suitable amount of energy or work is stored up in the form of an elastic resiliency in a spring or the like, so that when the proper time arrives this work may be made available for turning over the motor shaft in the proper direction.

More particularly, the present invention relates to a mechanism of the above general class, in which mechanism the motor serves to rewind the spring after the motor has commenced to operate under its own power, so that the spring will be wound up and will remain in such condition preparator yto a subsequent starting operation.

Still more particularly the present invention relates to a mechanism of this general class in which the motor is turned over a predetermined number of times and thereafter rewinds the spring an equal number of times.

It has been found by experience that the amount of work necessary to start a motor of moderate size is such that the springs of a spring vactuated starter must be fairly large, and that when fully wound up they must exert a very large twisting or turning force. relatively high percentage of .their resiliency, the amount of `space occupied by them will be undesirably lar e, and the starter will be unduly bulky an cumbersome. For this reason, the forces to be handled in a Such motors must be started by If the springs be not worked to a mechanism of this kind are very large, and thespaces available for the elements through which these forcesl must be transmitted are comparatively small, so that heretofore it has been a diilicult matter to so design and relate' the various parts that these forces can4 be economically and safely transmitted without imposing undue friction and wear on the various parts.

One of the main objects of this invention 1s to so relate the parts that the forces will be transmitted with the greatest possible directness from point to point, thereby making it possible to design each part in such Way as to `be best able to carry the loads imposed' on it.

Another object of the invention is to so arrange the parts which must be tripped off during the starting operation that these parts will start olf with a rolling action as contra-distinguished from a sliding one, thereby performing the starting operation with the greatest possible ease and quietness, and imposing the least possible amount of Wear and tear on the several mechanisms.

Another object of the' present invention 1s to provide a starter in which the spring, after being completely wound up, will be entirely disconnected from the frame or casing of the machine; this result being accomplished by automatically connecting the ends of the springs together and retaining them in such condition until the time arrives 'for the next starting operation. In

'this Way anyA undue friction and strain,

both on the casing and on the shaft itself, are eliminated, and the friction of operation is very materially reduced.

`Another object of the present invention is to provide a starting mechanism of such construction that by a very simple process it can be so changed or set that it will turn the motor shaft over any predetermined number of times, and will be rewound an equal number of times during the rewinding operation. In this way a starting mechanism of great range of utility is pro vided for the reason that some motors require to be turned over a greater number of times than others in order to insure a satisfactory start.

of usefulness ofthe mechanism of the present invention, the same is so constructed that one lor more Springs of standard size can be very easilyl and readlly connected into 1t,

without the necessity of changing an -other parts, thereby increasing the range o power of the starter according to the size and characteristics of the motor with which it is to be used. This feature of the invention will vbe readily appreciated when itis understood thatthe cost of manufacture is very" largelyafl'ectedby the. number and size of. partsfwhich'v must be kept in stock for dif.`

ferent machines.

Still another,- object of which consists in --the features of construc- 'tionan'd combination-of parts hereinafter tionis `to' provide a starter. of suchv con?.

struction. that, as soon asthe springs have..v

. been rewound, the starter shaft'will -been.' .1 tirely disconnected from-the other -mechaf,A

nisms ofthe starter, thereby allowing said shaft to rotate freely and unimpeded bythe other mechanisms, so that'during the entire.:4

f interval vwhile the motor is running Vunder its own power the starter will not interfere with nor affect such running. At the same time that thisy result is accomplished, I acl,A complish vanother desirable result,.inthat provide-a mechanism of such construction can -be wound by hand entirely indepen entof the motorshaft. This that the sprin is a very desirable object 'for the reasonthat in case the motor should. fail to` take hold orfpick uplwhen turnedover by the starter, so .that the starter. would noti be rewound by the motor, it would become necessary 4to rewind the starter by hand.

In all present forms of starter construe-j; tion with which I am familiar, the starter.

cannot be entirely disconnected fx-omits shaft, and consequently when it becomes necessary to rewind the starter by hand the engine shaft must also be turned" over, sof; that a double burden is thrown upon'the'.:

vdescribed and claimed.

In the drawings; Figure 1 shows a crossse'ction throu h the' casing of the starter but showing t e .internal mechanisms in elevation,,one of-..the.;feet1 of the bridge late being broken away-for the purpose o 'rev eahng the mechanism behind it; Fig. 2 isl the present invent;

a 4View similar. A'tof-that. ofI Fig..1 with the exception that .theinternal mechanisms areV 4shownf-m cross-section; =Fig..1.l3 is.-.a section taken on the line: of .FigSL-.looking in the .direction of .the arrows; .-Eiga shows a detail of .then-central4 portion 'o position; lEig. 5 -show'siasection taken on thellne'f ofiFigLzfl'vlookin inthe direc tion of fthe, arrows; j. sectionthroughthe 'rew `re'vvinfluig. cran'kin position; Fig.- 7 is a secof `Figi"I 7 ,showing how-'the -interlocking latch clearsfthe, hook during .the rewind;

Fig..f9 aviewusimilar to'F: 7 at the instent priorto thalatohng of t eho'ok; Fig. 10 isa detall vewsimilar to Fig. 9 at-the instant thatthehooksis'locked; Fig. 11 is a of a' portionofthe back end of the spring :bar-rel, I"the ".driving ratchet bein shown. in dotteddinesxFig. 12 is a detai Vof other1 flangef.- plate .of-1' the spring barre 1 .sh-owing 4an.ihwk.ateneiin position and showi wheel, in'g above; therliook operator, in that it is necessary for himl te. l

turn the engine 'over at the same time that.. he4 is storing energy in the starter spr11'1gs.

On the other hand, inthe mechanism of the present construction the starter can be wound independently of the engine shaft, sothat the only burden thrown upon; the

operator' is that of rewinding the spring.

This burden is still further reduced by. the provision of a construction such that the rewinding canbe effected' through a reduccaring.

tion .A urther object of the present invention is to provide a 'construction of mechanism for the protection of the starter against un- "f necessary wear and tear. Nevertheless, if:

such that the starter cannot be tripped off while the motor shaft is rotating. This .feature of the inventionobviates the pos-j. sibility of trippingoif the starter at unnecf essary times, and thus serves as a 'safeguard desired, this feature of the invention may b'e left olf, in which case the starter could be:

'Fig'.- -,..1 ooking-z in"the=:direction of the ar- .rowsy'Fl- 1 4 isa. detail taken onthe line 14 14.jo'..Fig'. .1f1, looking in Vthe direction `of: the arrows; Fig, 15 is a section taken on the li-'x ie.15- 15 `of, Fig. 1-, looking in the direction of thenarrows; .Fi 16is a view lookingat-the interior of. t e back h'ead`of 'the' ca-sing,.sh'owin one' form of a ratchet,

. showin a view similar to'Fil abutment, trip-oli' n er, and driving awl; Fig. 17 is a section ta en on the line 1 17 of- F1g. 1, .-look1ng inthe 4direction of the a detailed description of the invention,

Fig. .3, the pawl-latch being swungover intorewinding ioo arrows; Fig. 18 is' aview similar to Fig. 17,

g the finger trippedolf and one pawl locked 1n on the driving ratchet; Fig. 19 is -18 with the exception that the other pawl 1s locked in on the driving ratchet; Fig. 20 is a back view of the casing showing one formk of trip-ofi' mechanism; and Fig. 21 is a diagram. showing one tripped olf while the engine shaft was 4run-4 mng. Other objects and uses will appear from manner of attachingl the starter to an automobile engne housing.

Referringto. the several figures, the starter shaft 'is designated by the numeral 25.5V This shaft may be a continuation of the-motor shaft, or it may be secured or geared to the motor shaft in -any suitable rareamanner for transmitting forces to and` receiving them from the motor shaft. The casing comprisesthe front head 26and the Iback head 27, which heads are fitted on to a cylindrical casing 28 .and are held together in any suitable Way, as, for example, by

bolts 29 extending through ears 30 and 31 of the front and back heads respectively. Manifestly, `any other desirable form of attachment may be used. However, it is preferred that the casing should be oil-tight as.

at times it would be desirable to have the starter operate in oil. o

- The shaft finds bearings at the points 32 and 33 inthe front and back heads, and extends clear through the starter from front to rear. The shaftpreferably terminates in a head 34 having the cam surfaces 35 of the usual form, so that a crank or the like can f be directly applied to the shaft for the purpose of turning it over under certain circnmstances. A cap 36 normally closes in the front end of the shaft, so as to thoroughly protect the same from 'the ingress of dust and the like.

A spring barrel 37 is mounted for free ro.

vided with a barrel hub 39 mounted on the bushing, and with the outside inclosing flange or barrel 40 to which the outer ends of the power spring and certain other mechanisms are secured. The barrel hub 39 terminates at its front end in clutch faces'41 which engage corresponding clutch faces 42 of a flange hub 43 which latter carries an outwardly extending flange 44 on which certain mechanisms aremounted. It will be observed from the foregoing that the flange 44 is rigidly secured to the inclosing iange or barrel 40, so that said flange 44 must rotate with the spring barrel, and so that the stresses or forces exerted by the outer ends of the springs may be transmitted to the iange 44 under certain circumstances.

A ange sleeve 45 is mounted for rotation on the hubs 39 and 43, said flange sleeve 45 terminating at its front end in the outwardly extending iiange 46 which lies immediately behind the flange 44 and projects somewhat behind the periphery of the same. A sleeve 47 is mounted on the'iiange sleeve 45, said sleeve being provided with one or more perforations to accommodate the inner ends of the springs as is well shown inl Fig. 15. From the foregoing, it will beseen that the inner ends of the springs are secured to the sleeve 47 and transmit their stresses directly to and from it. By keying together the sleeve 47 and the flange sleeve 45, these two will be so joined together that v the stresses from the inner ends of the' springs will be directly transmitted through the flan e sleeve 45 to the flange 46. This keying unction may be accomplished by the inner ends of ,the springs themselves'as is well shown in F ig. 15. As therein shown, the inner end of each spring is'doubled one or more times, so that, when said ends have been extended through the perforations of the sleeve 47, the flange sleeve 45 maybe slipped into`place, said flange sleeve being provided with keywaysfor the accommodation of the doubled-over ends of the several springs. Manifestly, it will be very diilcult to attach the inner end of each spring directly to the flange sleeve 45, for the reason that saidfsleevevwould have to be slid out along 'thebarr'el hub 39 and flange sleeve 43, in order to provide a suiicient space between the flanges 46 and 40 to permit of the insertion of the springs between said flanges. Sliding the iiange sleeve 45 out in this manner would'.make it necessary to distort the springs to such an extent as to make the attaching of the springs a very diflicult matter. However, by means of the present or Aan equivalent construction, the springs can have their inner ends. slipped through the sleeve 47 without the necessity of distorting them materially, and before the flange sleeve 45 with its flange 46 is set into place. Then saidv flange sleeve 45 may be put in place to closefup the spring barrel, which operation will slmultaneously key the ends of the springs to the iange sleeve 45.

In order to cause la mechanism of this kind to function properly, means must be v provided for connecting one end of each springv to the shaft while the other end of the spring is held stationary during the starting operation, and for reversing said connections during the rewind. Then after the springs have been reWound, means must be provided for securing both ends of the springs to some common element, such as the casing, or for .joining them together, and maintaining them insuch condition until the time arrives for tripping olf to perform a new` starting operatlon. lTo accomplish these several results," I provide the, ratchets 48 and 49 4which are keyed to the rear and frontV ends of the shaft respectively. The teeth of saidrratchets are set to drive in opposite directions, so that one of said ratchets can 'be used to drive the shaft during the starting operation, the other one coming into pla shaft is being drlven under the'power of the engine. In the present instance, the ratchet 48 is used for 'the starting operation and will be called the driving ratchet, while the ratchet 4.9 is used for the rewind and will be called the winding ratchet. v

In Fig. 16, I have shown one form of construction for connecting the outer end of for the rewind when the the spring to the drivin ratchet for start-i ing purposes, but a pre erred form of con.l

. struction 1s shown in Figs. 17,18, and .19. A I will first describe the latter construction. :The power springs are -set into the mechanism illustrated in the drawings in' such way as to tend to turn the shaft and spring barrel over. in the direction illustrated by the arrows. 'A n abutment 50 is carried by the rear head, said abutment being preferably slipped'into place on a pair of pms 51 and 52which are secured to the rear head. On account of the small clearance rovided, this abutment will be securely hel in place in 5' this manner, but in case of its wear or injury it can be easily removed and another one inserted in its place. The rear end of the springl barrel carries a stop lingen 53 which is pivoted on the stud 54 of the spring barrel, so that said finger can be swung down into the position shown in Figs. 18 and 19. However, a' stiff spring- 55' having one end secured to the linger and the other end pressing against a stud 56 on the spring barrel, tends at all times to hold the finger up into the position shown vin Fig. 17, 1n which position the finger will rest squarely against the arresting face 57 of the abutment at a point substantially on the tangent line extending through the stud 54 and drawn to a circle 'about the shaft as a center. By allowing the linger 53 to normally stand in such osition, it will receive a directthrust and rmly lock the spring barrel, and consequently thev outer ends of the ower rings against rotation in the directlon vof t eir tendency.v e One or'more'pawls are pivotally mounted on'the end of the spring barrel in position to hook to the driving ratchet when the fnger I53 is forced down away'from the arresting face 5,7. In the. present case I have shown two pawls for this purpose, thesame being carried by the arms -58' and 59. Said 4'5 arms larecarried by the studs 60 and 61-of thespring barrel, respectively. These arms have their pawls 62 and 63 set apart a dis- 'tance approximately equal to v'one-half' a (e tooth ofthe driving ratchet. In this manlnerone or 'the other of these pawls will engage a tooth of the driving ratchet depending upon the exact position of the shaft at the instant when the mechanism is tripped off. A spring 64 secured to the arm 58 at the point 65 bears against some other element in such way -as to tend at all times to throw said 'arm in toward the ratchet for'the purpose'of causing its pawl to'engage the same. In like manner a spring 66 tends to throw the arm 59 in toward the ratchet at all times. A lug 67 on the nger 53 engages a similar lug 68 on the arm 58, so that, as long as the A iin er 53 is held out into the position shown f in ig. 17', the arm 58 will be disengagedfrom .65. the ratchet. like manner a lug 69 on the vfrom the ratchet as long as the linger 53 arm 58 engages a lug 70 on thearm 59, so that when the arm 58 is forced out away from the ratchet, the arm 59 will be also forced out. By means of this construction, both ofthe arms 58 and 59 will be held away 70 stands in its normal position, so as to allow the ratchet to rotate freely with the shaft. But the instant the finger 53 is forced down, as shown in Figs. 18 and 19, either the arm 58 or the arm 59 will engage the ratchet depending upon the exact position of the teeth of the latter at the instant of tripping ofi".

Although the springs 64 and 66 tend, as labove explained, to force the arms 58 and 59 in toward the ratchet, and thusto de ress the linger 53 into the position shown in. igs.' 18 and 19, still'the spring 55 is purposely made of such stiiness as compared to the springs 64 and 66 that it will overcome the tendency of said last mentioned s rings, and

i will force the finger 53 out into t e position shown in Fig. 17 thus disengagingboth of the ypawls, and holding them in disengaged position until some external force is applied tfthe' linger 53 for the purpose of tripping o 0n account of the verylarge force that is exerted by the power springs when they are brought into play, either the one or the 95 4 other ofthe arms 58 and 59 will grip the ratchet and be held to the same even against the restoring tendency of the spring 55, Therefore, the linger 53 willbe held in the position shown in Figs. 18 and 19, until the power springs `have completely un wound, or if the .mechanisms are not so proportioned as to allow a complete .unwinding of the power springs, then until some other force is brought `into play to allow the' motor to drive its shaft and ratchet ahead of vthe awls. Thereupon theyv will immediately isengage from the ratchet and swing -out into the position shown in Fig. 17, thus simultaneously 'allowing the finger 53 to swing out into such e position that said finger will strike the arresting face 57 the next time it comes around, thus again locking the spring barrel and the outer ends of the power springs t0 the casing. A

The above described mechanisms should be so arranged that slightly before the finger 53 leaves the arresting surface 57 the pawls will be resting against the ratchet under the force of their respective spring its rotation.

.aaai-am of fthe large forces which are acting "in the power springs, a comparatively small amount of free movement would allow the spring barrel to attain a high speed, so that a very large impact would be produced 'between the teeth of the pawls and the ratchet. For this reason, I`prefer to use two or more pawls arranged `in such a manner that one or the other of them will be in position to engage a tooth of the driving ratchet the' instant the spring barrel is tripped oii', it being manifest that, by multiplication of the pawls in this manner, the amount of free movement of the spring barrel may be decreased. However, under any circumstances, the maximum movement that could occur with a single pawl would be the length of one tooth of the driving ratchet.

lt vis desired to hold the finger 53 down a sufficient length of time, and during a suilicient amount of travel of the spring barrel, to insure that one or the other of the pawls will engage the ratchet. For this purpose, I have provided the surface 71 on the inner side of the abutment 50, which surface is preferably formed on the arc of a. circle drawn to the shaft as a center. With this arrangement, the finger 53'will be held depressed, and consequently the pawls will be held'up against thev ratchet to engage one or the other of its teeth during a certain amount of travel of the spring barrel. The length of the surface 71 can be proportioned according to the requirements, but ordinarily an extremely short surface will be suiiicient. However, in case the nger 53 should be tripped ofi' while the shaft was rotating rapidly in the direction shown by the arrow, a certain amount of extra movement of thel spring barrel would be necessary in order to allow the same to speed up under the influence of the power' springs, and overtake the ratchet in For this reason, the surface 71 can be made any length desired, and in the drawings I have shown it as being of a length equal to approximately two teeth of the ratchet.

For the purpose of limiting the amount of throw of the pawls and the finger 53, I have providedrthe pin 72 on the arm 59, said pin riding in theI slot 73 of the spring barrel, and having its movement limited by such slot.

It will be noted that in the above described construction, twoaseparate elements are provided for engaging the abutment and for hooking in on the ratchet. By providing two separate elements in this manner, I can so associate them that one of them will be in position to engage the ratchet prior to the actual instant of tripping off. By so doing, assurance is had that the spring barrel will not be allowed to run free for a considerable LAinterval between the tripping 0H and the engaging of the ratchet. In Fig. 16, I have 'shown an alternative construction in which one and the same pawl performs the two functions of engaging the abutment or the 4back head, a spring 80 tending to force the abutmentinto the position shown in Fig. 16. A pin 81 von the abutment works in a slot 82 of the back head and serves to limit the swinging motion of the abutment. A pin 83 on the pawl 7 i rides in a slot 84 of the `back end of the spring barrel to limit the movement of the pawl. The surface 85 of the abutment is formed in such a manner that, when the pawl is tripped off from the abutment, it will ride along said surface 85, and on account of the spring tension exerted by the spring 80, thel abutment will tend to push the pawl in toward the ratchet and lcause the tooth 86 of the pawl to hook into one of theteeth of the ratchet. It will be seen that when this construction is used, a considerable movement of the spring barrel is liable to take place before the pawl will be forced in by the abutment surface 85 aA rsufficient distanceto cause the tooth 86 to engage the ratchet. Therefore, this mechanism might be subject to the objection that a considerable impact and jarring would take place at the instant of tripping ofi'. On account ofthe large forces being exerted by the power springs, this free movement might in time injure the parts or at any rate cause their rapid Wear. However, there might be circumstances in which this Vmechanism would be desirable to use. v

-A bridge plate 87 is carried by the flange 46, and is forced to rotate with the same, so that said bridge plate is adapted to receive forces from and 'to transmit them to the inner ends of the power springs. As is well shown in several figures, this bridge plate is supported by a number-of feet 88 which in turn are carriedby thflange. As is well shown in Figs. 3, 5, 7, and 9, the flange 46 is provided around its periphery with a number of equally spaced holes 89, which holesI are suitably positioned to receive the securing means from several feet of the bridge Plate. Foi' the purpose of making adjustments, the bridge plate may be set at diderent positions on the flange, depending upon the stiffness with which the power springs are to be wound, and upon other facf tors. The bridge plate is so located 'that it is unnecessary to press the same up tdwiird the flange, and consequently the only forces which have to be transmitted through the feet 88 are forces for the purpose of causing the bridge plate to rotate with the flange 46. Therefore, -as a simple means of attachment, I provide the pins 90 on the several feet,

said pins having their inner ends slightly ner ends ofthe power springs, and consequently rotates with them and receives and transmits the several forces to and from them. During the starting operation, the inner ends 'of the power springs are to be held stationary while the spring barrel is allowed to rotate, having been previously connected to the shaft through the medium of the driving ratchet 48, as hereinbefore explained, while on the rewinding operation the inner ends of the power springs are to be rotated, the spring barrel being held stationary, as also previously explained. To -accomplish these results, I provide a pawl latch 91, the same being pivoted to the bridge plate'by being mounted on the stud 92 thereof, so that the said pawl-latch can swing to one side or to the other through a predetermined angle. This pawl-latch has the slot 93 through which the shaft extends, so that the swinging of the latch can take place without interference from the'shaft. This pawl-latch carries a winding pawl 94,

which winding pawl can be thrown to stand in position to engage an abutment 95 or'to engage one of the teeth ofthe winding ratchet 49, depending upon the position of the pawl latch.

During the'starting operation, the pawllatch stands in the position shown in Figs. 3 and 5 where its winding pawl engages the abutment, but during the rewinding operation .said latch stands in the position shown 1n Flg. 4, where itwill engage thewinding ratchet. When in this last mentioned position, the winding ratchet 49 by engaging the winding pawl 94 will cause the pawl-latch, bridge plate, and inner ends of the power springs to rotate, provided the motor be ldrlvenlunder its own power at such time, thus rewinding the power springs. `A spring 96 secured to the pawl-latch engages the pin 97 Of the bridge plate in such way that the pawl-latch is normally thrown into the position shown in Figs. 3 and 5, in which postion its winding pawl 94 stands ready to engage the abutment 95. This abutment is swingingly mounted on the casing at the point 98,` so that, under certain clrcum- These pins are rigidly secured to stances, the bridge platev can be rotated in the direction of the arrows for the. purpose of winding the power springs even while the.

Y spring 96, there is a normal tendency for the pawl latch to stand in the position shown in Figs. 3 and 5, which might be the starting position, and consequently said pawl-latch must be thrown over at the end ofthe starting operation so as to cause the winding pawl 94 to be engaged by one of the teeth of the winding ratchet for the rewind. For this purpose, I have adapted a star wheel or equivalent construction, whereby after the spring barrel has made a predetermined number of revolutions during the starting operation, the pawl-latch will be switched over to rewind the power springs an equal number of revolutions. For this purpose, a star wheel 99, having the desired number of teeth is rotatably mounted on a stud 100 car*- ried by the flange 44, so that said stud must travel in a circle about the shaft as a center as long as the spring barrel is rotating during the starting operation. A sleeve 1011s keyed to the bridge plate and extends inwardly therefrom, said sleeve being forced to rotate or stand idleaccording to the condition of the bridge plate. This sleeve carries a tooth 102 which extends out into position to engage the notches of the star wheel, so that the latter will be rotated on the stud 98 in the well known manner.

The pawl-latch is provided with a downwardly projecting finger 103 which works 1n a slot 104 of the -bridge plate, so that by operating on said finger the pawl latch will be swung to the one position or the other. This finger extends through the slot 104 a suiiicient distance to be engaged at times by a lug 105 of the star Wheel, so that under certain conditions the star wheellug will en.

'wheel-in the arrangement shown at a point diametrically above the same. As soon as the spring barrel is trippedoflt 1n the manner hereinbefore described, 1t commences to i rotate and causes the flange 44to rotate withq it. This causes the stud 100 to travel around in the direction shown by the' arrow of Fig. v12, and as the star wheel passes the tooth 102, itfwill be notched over thereby. Then as it comes past the finger 103, its lug 105 will clear such finger, and will continue to clear such finger each time it passes the same, until a, predetermined number of revolutions about the shaft have been completed, whereupon the next time the star wheel with its lug 105 comes around, it will strikethe finger 103 on the opposite side from that shown in Fig. 12, and will drive such linger over to the left. This will swing the paWl-latch from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. 4, and the winding `pawl 94 will be immediately carried over into position to hook in on a tooth of 'the winding ratchet 49. The instant that this takes place, assuming that the motor is now driving the shaft under its own power, the winding ratchet will hook in against the winding pawl 94 and drive thefpawl latch, bridge plate, and inner ends of the power springs over in the direction of thearrows to rewind said springs. In the meantime, of course, thespring barrel will havebeen locked to the casing in the manner previously described.

By reason of the fact that the sleeve 101 with its tooth 102 is keyed to the bridge plate, said sleeve will 'now rotate and carry its tooth 102 around4v with it, while the flange 44 with its stud 100 will remain stationary. Therefore, as the bridge plate rotates dur ing'the rewinding operation, the tooth 102 will engage the star wheel in such a manner Yas to rotate the' same over in the opposite direction from that in .which itv previously rotated, with the consequence that after the bridge plate has completed a predetermined number of rotations, the' lug of the vstar wheel will stand in the position shown in Fig. 12, so that the next time the bridge plate with the pawl latch comes around, the finger 103 will strike against the lug`105 and y have its movement arrested thereby, so that ofthe star wheel.

any continued rotation off the bridge plate will simply serve to swing the pawl latchk on its stud 92,' thus freeing the winding pawl 94 fro-mths winding ratchet 49, and thus allowing the spring' 96j to swing the pawl-latch clear out, so' that ,byy a slight backward movement the winding pawll 94 will run into and be arrested by the abut# ment 95. Thereupon, the power springs will` be completely rewound, and' their inner ends will be disconnected from the shaft and hooked in be'hindthel stationary abutmentl.

From vthe'above, it will be seen that thenumber of'revolution's which the spring bar# ing, depends entirely on the characteristics Therefore, the capacity' Vstoring a certain total amount o `work for a number of reasons. In the rst place, on account of the very large forces whlch must be 4handled in a machine of this kind in order to store up a suitable amount of work Within a reasonably small space, it would be very difficult to handle asingle power spring of suicient size and contour to store this work. On the other hand, a number of smaller power springs can be handledv independently with great ease. Furthermore, where smaller power springs are used the size of the spring barrel and other parts can be standardized, and then one, two, three, or more power springs can' be connected into the' spring barrel depending upon the service to which the starter is to be put and the 100 This being the case each power spring has a tendency to exert a considerable thrust on the spring barrel, to' draw the same down against the shaft and thus create a considerable friction between the spring barrel and the shaft. On the other hand, where a number of individual power springs are used they .can have their points of attachment to the flange sleeve 45 and to thespring barrel stepped or offset in su-ch a manner. that these side forces will balance each otherso that the result will be zero as far as any thrust on the shaft itself is concerned.

It-was previously explained how the inner ends of the power springs can be .easily attached to the sleeve 47 and keyed to the angesleeve 45. This construction is shown particularly in Fig. 15 where the'inner end 106- of the spring 107 is doubled overv one or more times to provide an enlargement which will seat into a keyw'ay of the flange' sleeve 45. The outer end of each power spring is carried out through a hole 108 and laid down on but' through a hole 108 and laid down on able manner, as by means of a screw 109. In order to separate the individual Ipower springs from eachother, plates 110 and 111 13 :s: v a 1,135,694

barrel, they are thereby connected to the driving ratchet 48, while the inner ends of the power springs being connected to the bridge plate are held against rotation by the engagement of the winding pawl 94 with 'the abutment 95. These conditions are maintained during a' predetermined number of revolutions depending upon the characteristics of the star wheel, so that the shaft is turned over the desired numberof times. In the meantime, the prime mover, for example, the gasolene motor, will pick up .or take hold, so that when such predetervals mined number lof revolutions have been completed, the motor will be running under its own power and will be able to rewind the starter.- Therefore, when the predetermined number` of revolutions have been completed, and the pawl latch 91 is thrown over to carry the winding pawl 94 down into engagement with the winding ratchet 49 the motor will commente to drive the inner ends of the power springs with it. Unless the pawls at the back end of the machine have disengaged from the driving ratchet 48, and unless the spring barrel is locked against rotation, this driving of the inner ends of the power springs by they motor will not effect any rewind, as under such circumstancesboth ends of the power springs would be simultaneously connected'to the shaft. Therefore, means should be provided 'for insuring that the' pawls on the spring barrel will disengage from the driving ratchet, and that the sprlng Vbarrel itself will be locked against rotation. These results should take place before the pawl-latch is swung over.

In the' Aconstruction illustrated in the drawings, I haveprovided a brake mecha- 'nism on the spring barrel which is automaticallyv brought into play at the proper instant, solas to arrest the movement vof the spring barrel a short interval before the pawl latch is swung over, thereby allowing ythe motor to drive the shaft and the .dri ving ratchet 48 ahead of the pawls on the spring barrel. The instant that the motor starts to' runahead-oi:l the spring barrel and driving ratchet the' pawls will disengage from the latter, Vand the linger 53 will swing out under the influence Yof the spring 55, thereby positively arresting the movement of the spring barrel and locking the same to the casing.

The brake mechanism shown in the drawing comprises a series of shoes secured to the outer surface of the spring. barrel and adapted to be forced out a slight amount at the proper time to engage cam blocks secured t0 the casing of the machine. I have taken advantage of certain characteristics of the spiral spring for .the purpose of bringing these brakes into play at the proper time. Corresponding to each of the spiral power springs, there is provided a brake spring 112 secured to the outer face of the spring barrel by a screw 113 and normally lying flat against the surface of the spring barrel, immediately in line with the corresponding power spring. Each of these brake sprin s y 112 carries a brake shoe 114 which normal y clears a corresponding cam stop block. 115

carriedby the casing 'of the machine, said stop block having the braking surface 116 of the desired inclination. Under ordinary circumstances, the sprin barrel can rotate freely, the brake shoes c caring the several stop -blocks 115, but when the proper time arrives the several brakes will be forced out, so that, as the spring barrel completes its rotation, the brake shoes will ride on the surfaces'll and thus be arrested, or at an rate retarded sufficiently to permit the sha t and driving ratchet to run ahead of the spring barrel, so that the pawls will disengage from the driving ratchet and allow the fin 'er 53 to swing out and lock the spring arrel against further rotation. "The rotation of the spring barrel is in the direction indiyoutside convolutions travel more rapidly than those 'farther in toward its inner end.v For example, in thevpresent case when the inner ends of the power springs are held stationary during the starting operation, the

spring barrel will travel more rapidly than any particular convolution closer in toward the shaft. For this reason, the spring barrel will turn more arapidly than the outer convolutions of the power spring, so that a slight relative movement will take place between points on such convolutions and the spring barrel. For example, in the present case a block 117 secured to a power spring approximately one turn from the outer point of support of the same, and slightly will beapproached by said brake shoe as the spring unwinds, until finally when the spring is practically unwound the brake shoe 114 will lie at a point practically above the block 117.` At,l the same time that the in advance of the brake yshoe 114,

power spring, is unwound, its various convolutions are eXpandin out toward the periphery of the spring' arrel, so that when 4 the spring 1s completely unwound, or at any rate unwound as far as will bepermitted by the spring barrel, the outer convolution will;

I take advantage of both of the above described characteristics, namely, the expand- Ying force of the power springs, and the tendency for the spring barrel to approach any given point on a convolution of a power spring during the unwinding, for the purpose of actuating the spring barrel brakes and insuring an exact timing of such 'actuation. To this end, I attach a block 118- to the inner face of each brake spring 112, said blocks preferably being underneath the brake shoes 114. These blocks 118'e'xtend down through holes 119 to' points just inside of the spring barrel where they can be engaged by the blocks 117 on the outer convolutions of the power springs when the time arrives. Preferably the adjacent faces of the blocks 117 and 118 are beveled, as shown, so that they will not lock when they come together.

lVith the above described arrangement, the operation is as follows, it being understood that Fig. 15 shows the parts in the position which they occupy near the end I of the unwinding process; as the unwinding continues, the outer convolution 'ofjeach power spring will commence to lay out against the periphery of the spring barrel, so that the blocks 117 will be forced out with a considerable pressure against the spring barrel. not be in registry with the holes 119, and consequently will not engage the brake shoe blocks 118. As the unwin'ding continues, the blocks'118 and holes 119 carried by the spring'barrel will gain upon the blocks 117 until finally at the proper instant said blocks 117 will engage the blocks 118, 'and the forward corners of the blocks 117 will clear'the edges of the holes 119 allowing the blocks to snap into Said holes and sud enly exert the maximum pressure against' the blocks 118. |The instant this takes place, the brake springs 112 will beforced outward` so that the 'brake shoes will 'engage the corresponding blocks 115 as the spring barrel comes around in its rotation.

On account of the very large force exerted by each of the brake shoes in its engagement with the correspondin stop blocks, a very large side thrust woul be exerted upon the shaft if said thrusts were not balanced. However, in the present case, by reason of the fact that a number of comparatively small power springs are used, the same being set at different points of angularity with respect to the spring barrel the amount of side thrust exerted by the brake` shoes is balanced all of the brake shoes coming into action at the same time, solthat the shaft is relieved ofl all side thrust, anda uniform braking effort is produced around the entire periphery of the spring barrel.

It is found that the above described mechanism or its equivalent works with extreme However, said blocks will` accuracy, and'that the spring barrel will invariably be arrested in its movement at the proper time to allow the pawls to disen# in its movement and held by the brakes bel fore the nger 53'engages the arresting surface 57, but, of course, as soon as the re-` winding commences, the convolutions of the power springs will move in toward the shaft, so that the expanding forces of the blocks 117 will be removed, and the brakes will be allowed to seat in against the spring barrel, thus removing the braking effort and allowing the spring barrel to creep up until the linger 53 engages the arresting surface V57.

It was previously explained that, as the rewinding operation is completed, the pawllatch will travel around with the bridge plate until the winding pawl 94 stands at a point just in advance of the abutment 95, whereupon the pawl-latch will be swung out into its initial position, thereby disengaging the `winding pawl 94 from the winding ratchet, and allowing said wind ing pawl to run back against the abutment 95. results, it is evident that the winding pawl 94: must stand a certain distance in advance of the abutment 95 before it disengages from the winding ratchet. Consequently, as it disengages from the winding ratchet, it will drop back against the abutment 95 with a force and impetus derived from the entire In order to accomplish these' force exerted by all of the power springs. Y

Under these circumstances, a considerable blow would be delivered when the winding pawl 94 engaged the abutment 95, and the parts might be injured. In order to reduce this blow as much as possible, a spring 120 may be secured to the end of the abutment 95 which spring will yield a slight amount to take up the impact delivered by the winding pawl 94. f A

' t has been previously stated that one of the objects of the present invention was to provide a starter of such construction that the same can be wound independently of the motor shaft. It will be noted that, during the rewinding process, the rewinding force is delivered to the bridge plate by means of the pawl-latch. The bridge plate being connected to the inner ends of the power springs it is evident that any force which will serve to turn the bridge plateover will effect the rewinding. I take advantage of this fact by forming the teeth 121 on the periphery of the bridge plate, said teeth being in the po- I sition to be engaged by the inner end 1220i a rewindlng crank 123 which `may be in- .serted through the port 125, which port 1s .normally closed by means of. a cap 124 pivoted at the point 126. 1t will ne noted that,

1n rewindmg in this manner, the pawl-latch.

91 is held in the position indicated in Figs. 3 and 5 by means'of the spring 96. Under these circumstances, the winding pawl 94 'must pass beneath the abutment 95 each time a revolution of the bridge plate is effected. For this reason, I have pivoted theabutment 95 at'the point 98, as previously stated, so that-when rewinding hand in the manner just described the'wm ing pawl 94 can pass beneath said abutment, the latter dropping back `into place as each revolution is completed. A heel 1 27 on the abutment 95 limits the amount ofdrop of the same, so4 that it normally rests slightly above therewinding ratchet. This obviates the possibility of friction and wear which would be incurred if the abutment 95 rested directly on the teeth of the ratchet. A

In order to obviate the`possibility of the bridge plate dropping back under the in- .fluence of the power springs when being rewound by hand, I have provided the dog 128. This is also pivoted on the point 98, and has teeth which engage the teeth of the bridge plate, sol that the latter cannot drop backward. Of course, under no circumstances could the bridge plate drop back a distance greater than that necessary to bring the winding pawl 94 up against the abutment 95, but if this distance were a considerable portion of revolution a very heavy blow would bc delivered which might injure or even destroy some of the parts. This danger is obviated by the provision of the dog 128.

With the mechanisms thus far described, it

l will be seen that when the power springs have been completely wound up, so that the winding pawl 94 has moved into engagement with the abutment 95, the finger 53 in the meantime engaging the abutment'50, the entire force of the power springs wound to their maximum capacity is exerted on these abutments. By reason of the fact that these 'two 'abutments Lare a considerable distance apartmeasured along the length of a shaft,

it will be seen that a considerable twisting force is produced which tends to throw the y rotate within the bushingl 38. Therefore, as long as the aforementioned friction exists,

there would be a wastage of energy at this point, and a heating would probably take place which might in time'become a serious independently of the inclosing new@ f matter. In order ,to overcome the above objections, I have provided means for locking the two ends of the power springs together, casing, so that the abutments on the casing are only brought 'into play for any considerable amount of work during the processes of starting the motor and of rewinding the starter, after -which the casin abutments are not relied upon to withstan the forces exerted by the power springs.

It will be noted that the flange 44 is connected to the spring barrel to which are connected the outer ends of the power springs, while the ange 46 is connected to the inner ends of the power springs. This being the case,any mechanism which will lock'these two flanges together will effect the desired result of taking up the forces exerted by the power springs without the necessity of transmitting said forces into the casing.

In Figs. 7 to 11 inclusive, I have shown the preferred form of mechanism for lock- 1ng these two anges together after the power springs have been completely wound, and for trlpping off at this point, as well as at the rear end of the spring barrel when it is desired to start the motor. For this purpose, an interlocking latch 129 is pivoted on a pin 130 carried by the ange 44, while au interlocking hook 131 is pivoted on a pin 132 secured to the ange 46. When the power springs have been wound up, there is a tendency for the two Iianges to rotate in the directions shown by the arrows of Fig. 7, so that, if the head of the interlocking hook be allowed .to stand in the position shown in said figure against the interlocking latch, the two ianges will be locked to ether. A spring 133 has 1ts inner end exten ed through a slot 134 of the pin 130, and is wrapped a number of times around said pin, and then enga es a pin 135 011 nthe interlocking latch. his spring has tendency to swing the interlocking latch over'toward the right in Fig. 7. A spring -136 tends to hold the interlocking hook down in the position shown in Fig. 7. When the power sprin s have been wound up and the. flanges are to he locked together,

the interlocking hook stands with its head v against a flattened portion 137 of the intel'- locking latch, and at a point almost directly in line between the points 130 and 132. It is preferred that the point of contact be slightly above the line between said pins, so that there is a constant tendency for the interlocking latch 129 to swing over', for the purpose of tripping oi the interlocking hook even in addition to the tendency of the spring 133. Therefore,`unless some other mechanism'were provided, the interlocking latch would swingover toward the right in Fig. 7, thus allowing the said latch to pass underneath the interlocking hook 131 and allowing the flange 44. to rotate, for the purpose mama/i` of unwinding the power springs. For the purpose of resisting such tendency, I have provided a hook spring 138 which is securedl to the flange 44 by means of the screw 139. This hook spring has the hooking edge 140, best shown in Fig. 13, and normally engages the lower end of' the interlocking latch to hold the same in the position shown in Fig. 7. Manifestly, means must be provided for unhooking this hook spring when it is desired to trip off the mechanism for starting purposes. In the construction illustrated, l have effected a .connection between the trip ping linger 53 and the hook spring 138. It is desired to force said hook spring away from the flange plate' 44 at the same time that the finger 53 is depressed. For this reason, I ycarry a rod 141 through the barrel hub 39 from one end thereof to the other, the front end of said rod resting beneath the hook spring, and the other end lying in a recess 142 at the back end of 'the spring barrel.. Said end also is enlarged to provide the button 143. g

As shown particularly in Figs. 11 and 14, a sliding bar 144 is mounted to slide within the recess 142, said bar having its lower end beveled as vat 145., so that when forced down toward the shaft it will simultaneously force the rod 141 inward, thus causing the spring hook to be raised for the purpose of unhooking the interlocking latch 129, and allowing the saine to trip off'. I provide a pin 146 on the finger 53, said pin engaging a slot 147 of the bar 144, so that, as the finger 53 is deL pressed, the bar 144 will also be actuated to accomplish the desired result. The lower end of the bar 144 rests against the inner face of the driveratchet 48, while the upper' end of said bar rests against the inner face of the finger 53, and thus said bar is forced to travel up and down without working out of the slot 142. The parts should be so proportioned that the finger 53 will disengagc from the arresting face 57 slightly before they spring hook disengages from the interlocking latch 129, so that the instant such disengagement takes place the spring barrel will be free to rotate under the influence of the power springs, and thus cause the arms 58 and 59 to take hold of the drive ratchet 48. By so proportioning the parts, any wear and tear on the corner of the finger 53 will be obviated, which wear and tear is very considerable and rwill be appreciated when it is remembered that a force of several hundred pounds on the power springs is being dealt with. The construction and arrangement of the interlocking latch and the interlocking hook are such, however, that they are well adapted to trip off under such pressure, be-

cause the tripping which takes place is more in the nature of a rolling action than the disengagement of a hook. This will be readily appreciated by an examination of the Yrotate for the rewind.

several figures, from7 to 10 inclusive, where it will be seen that the instant the vspring hook is tripped off, the interlocking latch, by swinging over to the right in Fig. 7, will tend to raise the head of' the interlocking hook which is already slightly oli' center, and the interlocking latch can then pass beneath the said head, as the flange 44 commences to rotate. W hen the interlocking latch has thus been tripped ofi', it will swing clear out until arrested by means of a pin 148, as shown in Fig. 9. W'hen lying in this position, this interlocking latch can pass beneath the interlocking hook each time the flange 44 completes a rotation during the starting operation, the surface 149 of' the interlockinglatch being formed so that it will lie at an angle with respect to the interlock` ing hook, and thus cause the interlocking hook to slide or ride up as the interlock ing latch passes beneath it. i

After the' I'iange 44 and spring barrel have completed" the `specified number of revolutions for starting purpcses,`the spring barrel and flange 44 will come to rest, and the bridge plate and flange 46 will commence to .As soon as this takes place, the interlocking hook 131 will com mence to travel around. Toward the end of the completion of the first revolution, it will ride up on a projecting portion 150 of the interlocking latch, as' shown in Fig. y8, and as it continues to advance its hook surface 151 will engage the hook 152 of the interlocking latch, as shown in Fig. 9, to swing the latter back into its initial position and cause it to latch in under the spring hook. In order to cause the hook surface 151 to disengage from the hook 152 in the easiest and best manner, I place the hooking surface of the` interlocking hook far enough in V from the end 153 thereof', so that therin- "Stant the interlocking latch has been hooked in, said surface will cause the hooks to disengage, thus Vallowing the flange 44 to continue its travel unimp-eded. As the flange 46 continues t'o rotate during the rewind, the interlocking hook 131 will ride over the interlocking latch 129 eachtiine a revolution iscompleted, until finally just before the completion of the last revolution on the rewind, it will run ,pastthe interlocking latch a slight distance, so that the instant the winding pawl 94 is forced out of the winding ratchet, the interlocking hook will stand in position to engage the interlocking latch, as shown in Fig. 7 when the flange 46 drops back the slight distance necessary to permit such engagement. Furthermore, the parts should be so proportioned that the interlockinghook will engage the interlocking latch lbefore the winding pawl 94 engages the abutment 95, and the finger 53 the arresting surface 51. With the construction as above set forth, or its equivalent, the only A tion, the winding pawl 94 is in engagement with theabutment 95, and durin the rewinding operation the nger 53 1s in en-l gagement with the .arresting surface 57, but

as soon as the rewind has been completed the entire force of the power springs is taken up by the engagement ofl the interlocking hook 131 with the interlocking latch 129. Thereafter, the only force which the finger 53 would be called upon to carry would be the slight pressure exerted'by reason ofthe friction :.f the spring barrel on the shaft. In other words, after the power springs have been completely wound up the only function of thefinger 53 until the next tripping operation would be that of retaining the spring barrel positioned properly within the inclosing casing.

It was previouslyl stated that the bridge plate could be set at a number of different positions with respect to the flange 46, and that for this reason a number of holes 89 Iareprovided .around the periphery of said flange. It will'now be seen that, in order to secure the proper operation, the interlocking hook 131 should always maintain a given position with respect to the bridge plate and pawl-latch, Furthermore, the interlocking hook must be raised above the flange 46 a suiiicient distance to bring said interlocking .hook into alinement with the interlocking latch. In order to accomplish this last result, and also to accurately position the interlocking hook with respect to the bridge plate, I mount the said interlocking hook on a short plate 154, tlie ends 155 and 156 of which seat nicely between two of the feet of the bridge plate. This plate 154 can beheld in position by screws extended through kthe holes of the flange 46. This plate 154 is also provided with a slot 157 ,'in which works a pin 158 carried by the interlocking hook131, which pin serves to limit'the amount of throw of the said hook,

and thus hold the same to properlyeiigage` the interlocking latch 129.

A stub shaft 159 is extended through the back head of the casing, and at its inner end carries a finger 160 which may be swung down to and engage the finger 53 for thev purpose of tripping off. A spring 161' nor mally holds the finger 160 up 4in the position shown in Figs. 17, 18, and 19, thus swinging the stub shaft 159 ,back to its normal posi-y tion. Outside of the casing said stub shaft carries a depending hook finger 162 which has the hook 163. For the purpose of triplping ofi', it isdesired that the finger 162 should be swung in the direction. of the arrow of Fig.,20 just far enough to causel the finger 160 to trip off the finger 53, and

then be released, dropping back to its initial position, so as to obviate any dangers that might follow from having the finger 160 depending down in the line of travel of the finger 53 after the spring barrel had commenced to rotate. In Fig. 20 I have shown a mechanism for accomplishing this result of tripping off the finger 160, and then immediately allowing said finger to return to normal position. aid mechanism comprises a dplate 164 mounted on the main shaft, and a apted to swing a slight distance with respect to the casing. Said plate is provided with a slot 165,- inwvhich works-a pin 166 carried by the casing for limiting the amount of throw of the plate. A spring 167 carried by the plate engages a pin 168 onthe casing' for normally holding the plate up in the position shown in Fig. 20. h This plate 164 carries a hook 169 which is adapted to engage the hook 163, so that when the plate 164 is forced down the hook 169 will be drawn to the right, thus also swinginr the hook 162 to the ri'ght and causing the finger 160 to trip ofi. A spring 170 secured to the pin 171 on which the hook 169 is mounted, and wrapped around the same the desired number of turns, engages a pin 172 on said hook for the purpose of holding it up toward the hook 162. lThe hook-`169 carries a pin 173 working in the slot 174 of'the plate 164, `which pin limits the lswinging movement of .the hook 169.

With the above described arrangement, it will be found that `when the plate 164 has been swung a certain distance the hook 169 'will trip ofi'l from the hook 163, and allow the same to drop back into initial position entirely disconnected from the hook 169. Then when the plate 164 is allowed to move up again under the influence of the spring 167 the surface 175 of the hook 169 will ride beneath the hook 163 to again cock both of vthe hooks ready for another tripping operation.

It vwas previously stated that, in case the starter should be tripped off while the shaft was rotating under the power of the motor, a slight additional amount of travel of the spring barrel might benecessary in order to permit the same to catch up with the driving ratchet, so as to engage one or the other of the arms 58 and 59 into said ratchet. It was stated that, for this purpose, the surface 71 of the abutment 50 could be made of any desired length. However, under certain circumstances, it, may not be desirable to allow the mechanism to be tripped olf at all after the motor has once been started. I have, therefore, provided a locking mechanism, whereby the parts can not be tripped off after the motor shaft commences to rotate. For this purpose, I have mounted the plate 176 on the shaft between a collar 177 which is secured to the shaft and a collar 178 which is free to move on the shaft either for rotation or axially thereof. The collar 178 is rovided with a cam groove 179 which can lie engaged by a pin 180 of the shaft, so that, as soon as the shaft commences to rotate, said pin by engaging said cam groove will force the same in toward the fixed collar 177, and thus tend to clamp the plate 176 between the fixed and movable collars. If such clamping operationwere not limited, the parts might ]am and become broken. However, I have provided a sleeve 181 on the collar 178, said sleeve extending through the plate 176 and being adapted to engage the fixed collar before the parts could lock; a spring 182 is interposed between the collar 178' and the plate 176, so that, as soon as said collar begins to move in, the plate 176 will be forced against the fixed collar 177. By reason of the rotation of the latter collar with the engine shaft, the plate 176 will be swung up. Said plate is provided with a curved seat 183, so that, when the plate has risen a predetermined amount, said seat will engage the lower face of the hook 169.

The operation of this device is as follows: As soon as the mechanism is tripped off and before the plate 164 has ai chance to swing back to its normal position, so as to hook in the hook 169 behind the hook 163, the plate 176 will swing up and is curved surface will engage the lower surface of the hook 169 to prevent the latter from dropping down under any circumstances. Then,

as soon as the plate 164 commences torise in order to latch the hook 169 in under the hook 163, said hook 169 will not be able to depress by reason of its engagement by the surface 183 of the plate 176, and therefore the hook 169 will not latch under the hook 163 in order to engage the same. Therefore, if the plate 164 were to be pulled down under these circumstances, the starter would not be tripped oif because of failure of the hook 169 to engage the hook 163. As a simple means for actuating theplate 164 at the desired time, I have shown diagrammatically in Fig. 21 one manner of attaching the saine to a foot pedal on the dash board of an automobile. In this case, a bell crank 184 is pivoted at the point 185 to the dash board 186, the upper arm of said'bell crank passing through an opening in the dash board and terminating in a pedal 187. The

' other arm of the bell crank connects by means vof a chain or the like 188 passing over pulleys or suitable openings, and connecting into a hole of the plate 164. By pressing down on the foot pedal 187, the necessary pull will be exerted on the chain 188 to pull down the plate 164 and trip yoff the starter.

With a mechanism constructed as above illustrated and described, it will be evident that the engagement of the pawls 62 and 63 of the arms 58 and 59 with the driving ratchet 48 is dependent upon the driv-v ing force exerted by the power springs during the starting operation. YVhen either one of these pawls is hooked into the driving ratchet, the finger 53 is held down in a position such as that illustrated` in Figs. 18 and 19, so that it will clear the arresting face 57. This position must be maintained by the finger 53 during the entire starting operation, or at least until the rotation of the spring barrel is arrested or retarded, as, for example by the braking mechanism, so as to insure that when said nger does finally engage the arresting surface 57 such engagement will be at low speed and with a minimum of impact.

It will be remembered that the spring 55 constantly exerts a force on the finger 53 tending to throw said finger out into the position shown in Fig. 17. From an examination of Figs. 18 and 19, it will also be evident that, during the nrotation of the spring barrel in the starting operation, centrifugal forces are exerted on the arm 58 and on the finger 53, which forces tend to swing said armv and finger out away from the shaft, and .to disengage the pawls 62 and 63 from the driving ratchet. This centrifugal force acts in addition to the force of the spring 55. Means should,y therefore, be provided for insuring that, during the entire starting operation, the one or the other of the pawls 62 and 63 will maintain its engagementwith the driving ratchet. This necessity will' be better realized when it is considered that, during this starting operation, the motor is supposed to pick up and commence to drive the shaft 25, and when it is realized that at times the motor may deliver a very sudden turning effort to said shaft. In order, therefore, to insure a more perfect engagement of the pawls 62 and 63 with the driving ratchet, I prefer to undercut the teeth of said ratchet, as is well shown in Figs. 17,V 18, and 19. However, at times even such undercutting might be insufficient to accomplish the desired result, and therefore I have provided other means for insuring a proper'engagement during` the entire starting operation. For this purpose,. I take advantage of the fact that the spring barreljs rotating during the starting operation,'and I employ such rotation for the production of a centrifugal force to balance or even overpowerthe forces exerted by the arms, finger 53, and spring 55.l For this purpose, I provide an extension 189 on the arm 59, which extension is of suflicient mass to produce the desired amount of centrifugal action during the unwinding rotation of the spring barrel. This centrifugal action will tend to throw the mass of the extension 189 out away from the shaft, thus preventing the arm 58 and the and 5.

finger 53 from flying out. The mass of this extension 189 andthe location of its center of gravity should be such that it will fully over-power the centrifugal tendencies of the arm 58 and the finger 53, as well as -the the parts thus proportioned, there will be no tendency for either of the pawls to disengage from the driving ratchet as long as the spring barrel is rotating. However, as soon `as the sprin barrel comes to rest, or issutliciently retar ed by the brakes, the spring 55 will act to throw the linger 53 outward to occupy aposition where it will enga-ge the arresting` face 57 at the completion lof the last revolution ofthe spring barrel.' Of course, the extension 189 should beso shaped that itwi-ll clear the abutment atall times, so as to prevent any possible interference therewith.` y l From a study of the pawl-latch construction at the front end of the machine, it will be `seenthat the spring 96 tends at` all times to restore said pawl-lat'ch from the position shown in Fig. 4 topthat shown in Figs. 3

This restoring tendency must be resisted during the process of winding the power springs, and such resistance may be effected by the pawl 94 with oneof the teeth of the winding ratchet 49. rIherefore, I prefer to undercut the teeth of said winding ratchet and the winding pawl 94 for a reason similar to that explained in connection with -the arms 58.

and 59.l However, in the present case also, I desire to reinforce such `engagement by other means, and therefore I take advantage of the centrifugal force which may be exerted by reason of the rotation of the bridge plate and pawl-latch during the winding operation. For this reason, I provide the extension 190 on the pawl-latch, said extension being so placed and of such mass as tol produce the necessary centrifugal.tendency during the winding process, to retain the pawllatch over in the position shown in Fig. 4,

. until it is forced away Afrom such position by the action of the star wheel after the proper number of winding'revolutions have 5,0 b

' this extension 190 should een effected. Thecentrifu al tendency of be sulicient to overpower the restoring tendency ofthe spring 96 under normal conditions, so as to insure the proper engagement of the winding pawl 94 with the winding ratchet regardless of other conditions.

It was previously explained that the interlocking hook 131 carries the pin 158 which rides in slot 157 of the plate 154. This pin 158 is mounted inl an extension 191 of the -interlocking hook, which extensionwill exert a centrifugal tender] cy during the rewinding process which will tend to balance that of the head 153 of said interlocking hook, so

that. reliance does not have `to be placed en- .tirely upon the Sprin force of the spring 55. With engagement of the winding 136 for assurance that the interlocking hoo will properly engage' the interlocking latch in the manner previously described.

From the foregoingdescription, the construction and operatlon of the particular mechanism illustrated in the drawings 'will be readily understood,l but I desire more particularl to point`out certain features not heretofb together the various mechanisms, the drivin ratchet 48 mayfirst be vkeyed to the shaft. Thereafter, the spring barrel 'with the rod 141 in position and including the bushing 38 may be slipped down" over the shaft, the beveled bar 144 being previously inserted in the recess`142. set-in place, and the power `springs successively wound into the spring barrel, the outer end of each power spring being connected to the flange 40, and the inner end thereof being passed through a perforation of the sleeve the flange 46 may then be slipped in between have the several keyways of the flange sleeve. 45 registering with the inner ends of the several power springs. Thereafter, the flangehub 43 with the iiange 44 may be slipped down into place, care being taken to reg1ster up the rod 141 with a perforation in said ange hub and to'properly engage the clutch faces 42 and 41. The Aabove operations will result in a mechanism in which the inner ends of the power springs are connected to the flange 46 and the outer ends to the flange 44.

. When the interlocking latch, hook spring, and star wheel have been mounted on the flange 44, and the plate154 with the interlocking hook 131 has. been mounted onthe fia-nge 46, the bridge plate, includin the slee've 32 and tooth 102, may be slippe into place and locked to the flange 46, by passing the pins 90 through the desired perforations 89. Thereafter, the pawl-latch 91 may be swung on the bridge plate, and the winding ratchet 49 keyed in place. The driving and winding ratchets will serve to lock all,of the intermediate elements in position, thus mak-A ing it unnecessary to permanently connect together the clutch faces 41 and 42, and making it unnecessary to connect the bridge plate to the flange '46 in any manner other than that necessary between them.

Having completed the assemblage up to the point above described, the finger 53 and the arms 58 and 59 mayv be slipped into place on the studs 54, 60, and 61 of the spring barrel. Thereafter, the back head 27, including the tripping mechanisms on its exterior, and the abutment 50 on the pins 51and 52, may be set in place. .On account of the smallclearance between this back redweltl upen. In orderto set` The sleeve 47 may then be 47. Theiiange sleeve 45 with to effect a driving connection, 

